


Another Soul in Elysium

by IllusiveSoul



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:27:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25255408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IllusiveSoul/pseuds/IllusiveSoul
Summary: Shepard lost a part of herself during the Skillian Blitz. A part no medal or tittle will ever replace
Relationships: Female Shepard (Mass Effect)/Original Female Character(s), Female Shepard (Mass Effect)/Original Human Character(s)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 10





	Another Soul in Elysium

**Author's Note:**

> Got a random bout of inspiration to write this yesterday while clearing a cave in Skyrim. The thought literally popped into my head.  
> Had to stop cause i was getting carried away and making it too long lol

The skyline of Illyria was so serene. The plethora of colors that painted Elysium's afternoons had always been so beautiful to her. To the both of them.

Only the plumes of smoke and the dozens of shuttles that surged across broke the peace in the sky, and served as a reminder of the battle that had just ravaged the planet. The words "Skillian Blitz" were already being uttered as a name for the event, a reference to the lightning conquests and way of warfare Germany had used during the Second World War over 2 centuries ago. It had worked for the Germans, but the Batarian pirates and slavers had been stopped, most of their men captured or dead and their ships burning both grounside and in orbit.

But at what cost...

Shepard, having dragged herself off the medical center, walked slowly amongst the hundreds of soldiers and medical personnel that ran through the streets and fields putting up aid tents, clearing up rubble, aiding the injured… picking up the dead.

_ "That's a lot of dead"  _ Shepard said as she walked through the empty spot between the tents, amongst the hundred of neatly organized black body bags that rested on the floor, blending in with the charred soil under them.

Feeling the constant pain of her bandaged arm and her patched up eye moving across her body, surging with every step she took, she finally reached the body bag marked by her omnitool.

Swallowing hard, her injured hand trembled as she pulled down the bag's zip.

Shepard wished she didn't recognize the body. She wished there was someone else left they could call to recognize her, but there was no such luck for her. There never had been.

Shivers running down her spine, she felt the cold sweat forming as her eyes remained fixed on the woman.

She looked so calm, so peaceful… as if she was in a deep slumber she'd wake up from soon. 

But she wouldn't.

There was still a hint of beauty under the burns, the soft features still visible in the part that wasn't covered in the darkness and ash.

Shepard stretched her hand and cupped her face, her thumb slowly caressing her skin, moving away a lock of hair, wishing she'd just open her eyes and smile at her one more time.

A smile she had seen just 7 hours ago, when they were having a drink at the cheesy vintage bar Shepard loved…

A smile she had given her when she heard another of her dumb, snarky comments about a celebrity…

A smile she'd given her as Shepard pulled out the shining pendant from her pocket and placed it around her neck… 

A smile she'd given her as they held hands and kissed, laughing from the drunkness they were in, and from the sheer happiness that filled them.

A happiness that turned to worry as Shepard's radio started going off and the alarms began to rang out.

A worry that turned to fear as the sky began to lit itself with explosions and shuttles.

A worry that turned into despair as the screams and gunfire began to fill the streets.

A worry that turned into a brief moment of relief and bravery as Shepard led her and some other people to the bunker, and when she kissed her deeply for a moment that felt eternal, a bubble of peace amongst the chaos that surrounded them, and told her they would find each other when all this was over.

And they had. Not in the way either of them thought they would.

When she saw the pendant, she was tempted for a moment to take it, a memento of a happier time.. but decided against. Best to left the past where it belonged.

_ "Thank you…"  _ Shepard said as she kissed her forehead, one last time  _ "... for everything" _

Wiping away the tears, she zipped the bag up and confirmed the id on her omnitool, before standing up and walking away… burying another part of her past once again.

It wouldn't be the last.


End file.
